The Animal Itself
by ArgentSimurgh
Summary: When pet dogs are disappearing, but all the grown-ups are tracking the Wicked Witch, it's up to Henry to investigate. Will he find the culprit, or will Storybrooke's humans be next? Season 3-B, mostly cannon, Henry-centric.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm sure Mister Wiggles is fine. Okay, I'll get somebody to look into it soon." Emma Swan, Savior and Sheriff of Storybrooke, pressed the "end call" button her cell phone, slumped on the couch next to her 13-year old son, and sighed. Henry looked up curiously from his Gameboy at his mother burying her head in her hands.

"Is evil afoot tonight?" he asked, half-teasingly. Emma raised her head, and leaned back into the cushions.

"I doubt it," she replied. "It was a guy named Gustav looking for his Irish setter, Mister Wiggles. Says he's been missing since this morning, which, technically, is not actually long enough to be officially missing." Her eyes tightened as she moved to gaze out the window at the post-rain fog thoughtfully.

"But..?" Henry prompted, inferring from her expression that there was more to the story. Emma turned back to her son.

"But… it's the fourth dog missing this month," she concluded. "It's a lot for a small town, especially somewhere like Storybrooke."

"But since you don't have time to check it out, you said you'll get someone else to look into it," Henry continued.

"Yeah, I've got my plate full with the Wicked Witch on the loose, and everyone else is swamped too." She crossed her arms in frustration.

Henry switched off his Game Boy, "All the grown-ups, you mean. I can check it out for you."

"Oh no, kid, I can't have you out in the open with flying monkeys on the loose," Emma frowned at him.

Henry's reply was cut off as the door to the loft apartment opened, and his grandparents, Snow White and David (Prince Charming) returned from their walk. Or waddle, in Snow's eight-months-pregnant case; thanks to the time-warp of the first curse, they were roughly the same age as their adult daughter.

"Hi guys, what's going on?" Snow hung up her jacket, forehead creased as she took in their uncertain faces.

"Dogs are going missing in Storybrooke, and Mom doesn't have anybody free so I'm going to check it out," Henry rushed in an explanation before Emma could say something that terminated his involvement in the mystery.

But Emma tried to do so anyway. "Henry, I don't want you wandering around town, or worse, outside of town while there's very real danger."

Snow and David murmured in agreement and David chimed in, "We've already seen both the Wicked Witch and her minions in action, Henry. Now, I know you're trying to be brave and contribute to helping to the town…"

"Like the prince that you are," Snow inserted.

"...but there is a very real risk of you getting hurt or captured if you're out on your own," David finished.

Everybody frowned while Henry examined his grandfather's words for a loophole.

"Wait, if I'm not on my own, could I at least interview the people with missing pets?" Henry eagerly proposed.

"Maybe…" Emma resisted giving in. "Who would you have go with you?"

"How about me?" Snow offered. "Since no one will let me go on the Witch hunts, I can drive Henry to the dog owners' homes after school tomorrow and we can both look around their yards for clues."

"You are the best tracker in town," David allowed.

"And it will show the community that their mayor is willing to roll up her sleeves and help," Snow lifted her chin with a smile.

"Okay," Emma shrugged, "You two can look into the missing dogs."

"Yes!" Henry exclaimed. "Operation Mad Dog is on!"

"Mad Dog?" Emma lifted her eyebrows as Snow and David turned to the kitchenette to start supper.

"Operation Mister Wiggles doesn't sound as cool," Henry explained.

"Of course not," Emma rolled her eyes and smiled, "Just don't go anywhere without Snow."

"I let Max out into the back yard to go potty while I set my dentures to soak before bedtime. When I went to let him back in, he wasn't there!" 72-year-old Fanny Schreck sniffled and pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket.

Henry, Snow, and their hostess were seated on overstuffed pastel furniture in what he guessed must be the most stereotypical little old lady living room to have ever existed. The wallpaper and furniture were vintage 1970s and doilies abounded on both the coffee table and loveseat arms. Every horizontal space was occupied by tiny porcelain figurines and every vertical space was filled with the photos of many generations of children. Low, dark clouds spat tiny droplets at the sun-catcher filled windows, which looked out on a fenced yard and the woods that bordered the Hunter's Grove neighborhood.

"Can you tell me what day that was?" Henry jotted down the details in his Iron Man notebook on the page after Mister Wiggles, Karl, and Greta's information.

"The 19th," she nodded, keen to help. "He's my grandson's dog, but I puppy-sit when Eric has a long shift at the cannery."

"I'm just going to look at the back yard and see if there are any holes in the fence where he could have gotten loose," Snow heaved herself up from the armchair after rocking back and forth twice for momentum.

"Has Max ever gotten out before?" Henry continued the interview after Snow had gone.

"Well, yes," Fanny's eyes dropped to the carpet. "Sometimes when I go out the front door to get the morning paper off the stoop, he gets out and chases a squirrel or stray cat. But he always comes back after an hour or two! I don't know what could have happened to him this time! I let Eric down." She dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.

Henry set his pencil down and patted her arm, "Don't worry, Mrs. Schreck, we'll find out what happened to Max."

"You're such a sweet boy," she tried to smile at him through her tears.

"Thanks," Henry half-smiled back. "Do you have a picture of Max, so we know what to look for?"

"I sure do," Fanny reached down to pull a ruffled violet photo album from the shelf under the coffee table. She opened it to the back and pulled out a photo of a well-fed sheepdog and a smiling young man with dark hair.

"Here you go," she placed the photo in his hand. "This is from last summer, so Max looks just the same."

"Perfect," Henry pulled himself up out of the loveseat. "I'm going to see if my grandmother found anything in the back yard. I'll call you if we find Max or any leads."

"That would be wonderful, thank you so much!" Fanny enthusiastically replied. "I know there's not much hope when he's been gone so long, but if there's anybody who can find him, you and your grandmother can."

"We'll do our best," Henry pledged, and pulled on his jacket as he passed through the sliding glass door to the back yard.

He found Snow White standing at the back of the yard with her hands on her hips, staring over the white picket fence.

"Did you find anything?" he slung his messenger bag over his shoulder.

"Yes. There are only paw prints inside the fence, which you would expect," she explained. "There are no holes in or under the fence. On the outside of the fence, however, there's one small set of human prints between the fence and the forest."

"Meaning what, exactly?" Henry tilted his head to one side as he looked at the footprints in the muddy, winter-browned grass outside the fence.

"With the rain we've had, the prints aren't clear enough to identify an individual, but someone human definitely came up to the fence and lifted Max over it," Snow turned to her grandson.

"So…you think maybe the Wicked Witch took him?" Henry named the only villain currently operating in Storybrooke that they currently knew of. Her history of threatening Dorothy's dog was also incriminating.

"Maybe, but it doesn't make any sense for Zelena to kidnap the dogs of people who aren't… well…" She gestured vaguely at the house.

"Who aren't major characters?" Henry guessed.

Snow sighed, "Yeah. I mean, none of these people are mentioned by name in the book, are they?"

"No," Henry replied. "That was the first thing I checked. If they're even in the storybook at all, they're background characters."

"That's what I thought," she said. "Gustav looked familiar from around town and back in the Enchanted Forest, but I can't even put a name to their faces until they introduce themselves."

"Zelena hasn't asked for a ransom or anything, has she?" Henry asked.

Snow White shook her head, "Not for a single one, including Greta."

"Being a champion-bred Great Dane, she'd be worth a lot," his gaze rested on Max's paw prints. "I don't think the Wicked Witch has anything to do with this."

"You're right, it doesn't feel like her at all. It's not the sort of flashy statement or sneaky plot she likes to make." She sighed and lifted her gaze to the brooding clouds, "Another new villain. What villains go after people's dogs?"

Henry had really studied the storybook detailing the last two decades in the Enchanted Forest before the Evil Queen's (Henry's adoptive mother, Regina) first curse ripped nearly everyone out of it and into Storybrooke. His efforts, and the intervention of his mother, Emma, had resulted in that curse finally being broken.

"The only two villains known to target pets are the Wicked Witch, who we agreed probably didn't do this, and Cruella De Vil," the answer came to him easily.

"Hmmm… well, I happen to know that Cruella went through a portal to another realm well before the first curse," the corners of her mouth dropped even lower.

"Really? What happened?" Henry's eyebrows shot up.

She shrugged nonchalantly, "Some sorcerer or his apprentice, I forget which. Both Cruella and Ursula the Sea-Witch went through together. Nobody knows where."

"So there's a chance it could be her. We should follow the footprints," he looked for a back gate to the fence.

"Nuh-uh, that's way too dangerous without at least another armed adult," Snow turned away from Henry and waddled slowly toward the gate at the side of the house. With a final glance at the dark woods, he trudged along after her to her car.

"I know we're missing something," Henry clicked his seat belt. "We just need to find it."

"Well, I know I'm missing a cup of cocoa," Snow half-smiled at him. "Want to stop by Granny's Diner?"

"Yes!" he smiled back. "And don't forget the cinnamon!"

"I wouldn't dream of it," her smile spread as she put the sedan in gear.

"Hi Henry, Snow!" Granny greeted them as if they didn't come into her diner each and every day. "Hot chocolate with cinnamon for both of you?"

"You know it," Henry confirmed as they slid into their usual booth.

"Henry!" the warm voice of Archie (aka Jiminy Cricket) called, as he wiped his shoes on the entry mat and closed the front door behind him.

"Hi Archie!" Henry waved.

The bespectacled psychologist stopped beside their table. "It's been awhile since we've had a session. How have you been since you got back your memories of the last year?"

"I've been great…but kinda bored until today," Henry smiled genuinely back. "While everyone else is looking for the Wicked Witch, Grandma and I are trying to solve a mystery."

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" Archie exclaimed. "What clues have you uncovered so far?"

"Not much," Henry admitted. "4 dogs vanished, and there aren't any clues apart from one set of footprints."

"Hmmm… that reminds me of some of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes," Archie mused. "Have you ever read any of those stories?"

"Henry mostly sticks to fairy tales and comic books," Snow teased.

"Well, you might find some inspiration there," Archie looked back to Henry. "Sherlock's always able to find clues that aren't obvious at first glance by using his investigative technique and figure out what they mean through his powers of deduction."

"Deduction? Is that like magic?" Henry's brow furrowed.

"No, just simple logic," Archie smiled. "Sherlock could reason exactly what each clue meant simply by determining what must have happened to leave it there. It seemed like magic to those around him, but really it was nothing more than his investigative method and his brain power."

"Maybe we could stop at the library tomorrow and find a book about him," Snow suggested.

Henry smiled, "Sounds good. I haven't seen Belle in a while anyway."

"I'm glad I could help," Archie squeezed Henry's shoulder and went to sit at the counter.

"I LOVE the Sherlock Holmes mysteries!" Belle exclaimed after Snow White and Henry brought her up to speed the next day. "I put it on the book club list last summer, so there are enough copies for both of you to look at."

"We don't really have time for a big novel right now…" Snow began.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that," Belle interjected. "The book club members all agreed novels would be too much for their busy summer schedules, so I ordered the collected short stories. If you want to learn about Sherlock's methods, the very first one, 'A Study in Scarlet,' is the best. That's where he and Dr. Watson meet and become flatmates, and he explains to Watson how he solves mysteries."

"That sounds perfect," Henry grinned.

"Let's head to my office and dig in," Snow tucked her copy under her arm with a smile. "Thanks, Belle!"

"Best of luck!" Belle called after their retreating forms.

"Hmmm… looks like we should have taken a measuring tape and magnifying glass with us," the corners of Snow's mouth pulled down.

"Yeah, or taken pictures with our phones," Henry agreed. "Grandma, do you have a map of Storybrooke?"

"Sure, Henry, there should be several in a drawer around here somewhere…" Snow White set her book aside and began rifling through drawers at random. She pulled out former mayor Regina's skeleton keys to look in the file underneath them.

"Not this drawer," she sighed, plunking the keys back in.

"I found one!" Henry announced from the file cabinet at the wall, and brought it over to the desk. He began marking four green X's with a highlighter from his messenger bag.

"Are those the disappearance points?" Snow asked.

"Yeah. In a different story, Sherlock mapped out where all the victims were found. It helped him realize the murders were related to the train schedules."

"Schedules…" she repeated, "Henry, what were the dates of the animal disappearances?"

He pulled out the Iron Man notebook paged through his interview notes. "The 3rd, the 10th, the 19th, and yesterday, the 27th."

"That's roughly eight days," her eyes widened at him.

"Huh. I wonder what happens every eight days," his eyebrows scrunched together.

"It could be someone trying to cover their tracks," Snow suggested, then sighed. "I feel like we don't have enough information. All we have is footprints and feelings."

"I know. Sherlock would have had this solved by now," his eyes went to the cover of his book, then the map. "What part of the forest do the Merry Men camp in?"

"The northeast part, over here," Snow pointed.

"The disappearances have all been on the west half of town," Henry observed. "Look, there's none east of River Street."

"Hmmm… I don't know what that means, but you're right," she patted his back, then glanced at her watch. "My brain is done for the day. Shall we start supper?"

"Sure, can I bring the map and stuff?" he looked at her hopefully. "Maybe if I show what we found to Mom and Grandpa, they might have some ideas."

"Can't hurt," Snow shrugged.

"Did you find that same set of footprints at each location where the dogs disappeared?" David asked around a bite of garlic bread.

Henry shook his head, "Only one had footprints, but the rain made it hard to get a good look at them."

"If Cruella's back and up to her old tricks, this could be the start of something very bad," Snow frowned deeply at David.

"Picking off family dogs? That's bad form," Captain Killian "Hook" Jones dabbed at a spot of pasta sauce on his black button-down shirt with his paper napkin.

"I didn't know you had a soft spot for pooches," Emma smiled and squeezed her beau's knee.

"I had a beloved hound as a child, Swan," he grinned at her. "Apart from my brother, Copper was my best mate. I haven't had one since then; they don't fare well at sea."

"Do dogs get sea-sick?" Henry hypothesized aloud.

"Aye, lad. I've only seen a handful that didn't," Hook gave up on the spot and resumed attempting to twirl spaghetti onto a fork with his solitary hand. He was careful to keep his hook safely below the table level.

Emma smirked at his reference to a handful and tried to cover it with a bite of salad.

"Can Grandma and I look around the woods on the west end of town?" Henry knew it was a long shot, but he had to take it anyway.

"NO!" all 4 adults shouted simultaneously.

Henry's eyes widened before he decided to offer an alternative with a whine. "Please? What about if we get a second adult to go with us?"

"Maybe, okay, kid?" Emma frowned at her son. "We still haven't figured out where Zelena's hiding along with her flying monkeys. You are not wandering around the outdoors, especially that creepy forest."

"Well…" he turned over her words, "What if we don't go into the woods? What if we just find places where footprints go in and out?"

"Mmm…" David growled. "But if you find footprints, will you be able to keep from following them?"

"My educated guess is no, for both of you," Emma answered, and her mother looked at her with a shocked look. "So if you want to do that, you have to find someone that I know can resist their curiosity."

"Like who?" Henry didn't need to acknowledge the simple truth about his powerful curiosity.

"How about Leroy?" Emma suggested.

"The town's drunken tell-tale?" Hook was skeptical. "If you'd rather not inform the whole bloody village, and your potential suspects, about your investigation, I'd pick a dwarf less prone to gossip."

"He's right. Grumpy isn't any better at keeping a secret than my own True Love," David grinned at Snow.

She scoffed, "Just because…"

"You can't keep a secret," Emma cut her off and everyone laughed except Snow, who looked at them all with mock outrage. "But Killian's right. Not Leroy."

"Maybe…" Snow made an obvious effort to rise above the teasing, "You could see if Robin Hood can spare one of his men?"

"Well, they can't all be making merry 24-7," David lamely punned, to a chorus of groans. "What? I can't make a dad joke?"

"Please, no," Emma pushed her empty plate back. "That's one childhood torture I'm glad I skipped."

"I'll call Mom, my other mom, and see if Robin can talk about it," Henry glanced at the microwave clock. "He doesn't have a cell phone yet, but he's probably at her house for dinner, anyway."

The adults exchanged knowing looks about the former Evil Queen and mayor's love affair with Robin Hood, whose likeness she had once put on wanted posters. After all the pain and heartache Regina had been through, starting with a childhood dominated by her murderously ambitious mother, everyone was glad she finally had her own slice of happiness at no one's expense.

"If it's okay with you, Henry, I think I'll stay home this time. All the walking around yesterday and today made my ankles swell," Snow rolled her eyes.

"We'll clean the galley," Hook quickly offered, reaching for Emma's plate and stacking it on his own.

"Thanks guys," David shot them a grateful look as he helped his wife rise. "Let's get your feet up and watch a movie."

"I'm not arguing with that plan," Snow snuggled into his supporting arms.

"Thanks for going with me," Henry looked back over his shoulder at Robin Hood. "You could have sent one of your Merry Men, if you didn't have the time."

"Not at all, lad, I'm glad for any opportunity to spend time with you", the Prince of Thieves adjusted the bow over his shoulder as the two made their way around to the back of Mrs. Schreck's property, "Besides, it is quite agreeable to have something else to worry about besides aerial simians."

"Here's where Grandma saw human prints," Henry pointed at the ground just outside the fence.

"Hmmm…" Robin bent down to examine the area. "I can see what she meant by the rain degrading them. Almost anybody could have made these tracks. I'm impressed she could even tell they were human."

"Grandma's an awesome tracker," Henry smiled with pride. "They were a little better yesterday, but it rained this morning."

"Too true. I doubt we'll discover more from these." Robin straightened up and gestured at the woods with his jaw, "Shall we go have a look about the forest edge?"

"I'd love to."

"Then let's!"

The west woods were known as lonely, but in the muted light of early evening combined with drizzly weather the overgrown place was downright gloomy. Henry shivered at the sight of a large and ragged spider web highlighted by raindrops in the branches of a long-fallen elder.

"Is this a path?" he pointed to a 6-inch-wide compacted dirt trail.

"Aye, but for deer," the experienced woodsman replied. "That isn't wide enough for people."

"I don't see deer tracks on it."

"The rain…" Robin began before narrowing his eyes. "You're right. Even under this sheltering tree there aren't any deer tracks. But there are those."

He squatted down and rested his hand on the soft earth just inside the forest margin where 3 distinct shoe prints had been spared from the rain by the branches of an ancient and heavily foliated hawthorn. Henry squatted along the other side of them, turned on the flashlight feature in his phone and took several pictures.

"They are close together… small shoes with heels," Robin frowned. "A slightly shorter-than-average woman. A woman has been stealing pet dogs?"

"I don't know," Henry said, "but the heels are kind of wide."

"Compared to Regina's shoes," Robin agreed, then blushed slightly.

Henry's eyes were on the prints, so he didn't notice the man's momentary embarrassment. "What do you think about the deer trail with no deer prints?"

Robin straightened up and looked at the trail again. "Some of my men had been complaining about the lack of large game in Storybrooke. I'd assumed it was merely a normal facet of this world, but perhaps it is related…"

Henry stood as well. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a shadow move deep in the woods, but when he turned his head quickly it was gone. He had the creepy sensation that he and Robin were being watched.

"What?" Robin's brow knitted.

"Nothing," Henry wore the same worried look as he took a tentative step toward the forest. "I think it was just a bird."

Robin grabbed his shoulder. "Hold on, lad. Both of your mothers were very clear that we should not enter the woods lest we attract the notice of Zelena and her…pets."

"But Robin…" Henry put on his most persuasive voice, keeping his eyes on the darkness between the trees. "Don't you want see what's out there?"

"Indeed, but either of your mums can make me very deeply regret exposing you to danger," Robin tightened his grasp. "Let's show your grandmother the pictures you made of the tracks before we do anything more out here. I dislike the look of these woods."

Henry's shoulders slumped. "Okay."

Henry lay staring up at the darkened ceiling of his room at his adoptive mother's house. His thoughts spun around Cruella de Vil, the shoeprints under the hawthorn tree, and the approximately eight-day interval between dog-nappings. Finally, he rolled over and reached into his messenger bag for a flashlight and the Sherlock Holmes book, opening it to the next short story.

Minutes later, his eyes paused on one sentence: "Before we start to investigate, let us try to realize what we do know, so as to make the most of it, and to separate the essential from the accidental."

Immediately, Henry shut the book and tossed it on the floor beside the bag. He retrieved the Iron Man notebook and a pencil, opening the former to its first page, which was all about the missing retriever, Karl. The notes were haphazardly written in the order which the owners, a young couple, had recounted them.

"Elementary", he whispered to himself as he began noting details in the margins, marking stars and notes to himself by the original words, and crossing out a few entries. When satisfied, he ripped the sheet out, flipped to the first blank page of the notebook, and began re-organizing his notes. He repeated the process for the other interview notes.

Finished at last, Henry glanced at the clock. 12:45 AM. He nodded once to himself, set everything on the floor, and fell asleep within minutes.

"Tell me everything about Cruella de Vil," Henry demanded after settling in a chair for breakfast.

"I didn't know her personally," his adoptive mother Regina waved a dismissive hand at Henry's question, "She was an associate of Ursula and Maleficent, not mine."

He jotted this tidbit down. "But you heard of her."

"Only a little," she flipped a pancake on her expansive stove top. "I heard she loved furs, jewels, and luxury."

"Luxury?" Henry frowned as he wrote; this might not support his case.

"Yes," she replied. "Maleficent once complained to me that when Cruella visited she stayed up drinking gin every night and slept until noon every day."

"That doesn't fit!" Henry exclaimed in dismay. "Greta and Karl vanished before 6am!"

"Then it definitely is not Cruella's work," Regina flipped the pancake onto a plate and set it in front of him. "She liked fur but not enough to interrupt her own beauty rest."

Henry groaned as he poured warm apple butter over his pancake, "Now I have to start all over!"

"Oh, I don't think so," Regina tapped his open notebook. "It looks like you made some great observations the last few days. Maybe you just need to take another look with an open mind."

"It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment," Henry quoted.

"What's that?"

"Sherlock Holmes… or Arthur Conan Doyle. I don't know if Sherlock is real like you are," he glumly explained.

"Well, chin up," she commanded in her most regal voice. "I'm sure if you follow Sherlock's methods, you'll get to the bottom of this mystery soon enough."

"I'm trying to solve it before Saturday."

"Why Saturday?"

"It's day eight." He saw her confused look and explained, "When the next dog is due to vanish."

She reached over and squeezed his unoccupied hand, "I believe in you Henry."

A small smile rose on his lips, "Thanks, Mom."


	2. Chapter 2

"Regina was sure it isn't Cruella?" Emma asked after listening to Henry's update. The sheriff's station was quiet that afternoon and both Emma and Hook were glad for an after-school diversion while David cruised the town.

"Definitely. She said Cruella liked luxury and sleeping in. It doesn't fit with the clues we've gathered."

"I'm sorry to hear that, lad," Hook sympathized as he passed Emma a fresh cup of coffee. "It would have been a handy end to the mystery."

Emma's lips twitched. "Yeah. We just need to go over the clues again."

Henry pulled his phone from his pocket. "The best clue we have is these footprints. Robin and I found them yesterday under a tree near Mrs. Schreck's yard."

Emma took the phone and held it so both she and Hook could examine the photos.

"Why doesn't my talking phone make images like that?" Hook demanded.

"Because you barely know how to make a call with it," Emma snarked back, "A smart phone like this is way above your skill level."

"Hmph… I agree those prints look like women's shoes, but they wouldn't have been made by the delicate ones I've seen on your feet, love," Hook took advantage of his nearness to Emma and pressed a kiss to the side of her head.

"Yeah," she mused. "Those heels are wide and square. They look like the kind of thing you'd see on Victorian shoes."

"Huh…" Henry wrote 'Victorian?' in the Iron Man notebook, then sighed. "I don't know what to do next."

"Want to go sailing, mate? It'll help clear your mind." Hook offered.

"Are you sure you can take the time off?" Henry asked hopefully.

"Aye. We haven't seen the Wicked Witch nor her minions for days."

"And this is the first day it's been sunny in a while," Emma added. "You two go and have fun. I've got to finish a report on Will Scarlet's latest escapade."

Hook's eyes flashed at mention of the Knave of Hearts who'd interrupted his first official date with Emma. "Just let me know when you'd like me to drag him in here, Swan."

"Thanks, but I don't need accusations of police brutality." She pecked his lips. "See you both at the loft for dinner."

An hour later, Henry conceded that Hook was right. The open sea and salty air cleared his mind of confusion and what remained was the need for more clues… and if the adults in his life didn't let him, then he'd go searching for them anyway.

Later that night, Henry read more Sherlock Holmes under a blanket to stay awake until his adoptive mother, Regina, was definitely asleep.

"Never trust to general impressions, my boy, but concentrate yourself upon details."

Which details, though?

He flipped to the page of his Iron Man notebook where he'd tried to find all the commonalities between the disappearances. After reading and rereading it for 10 minutes, he flipped to another blank page and drew a T-diagram. He labeled one column 'Same', and the other 'Different'.

In the "Different" column, he listed:

Time of day: 2x5-6am, 2x8:30-10pm

Owners' ages, jobs, genders

Type of homes: 2 houses, 1 townhome, 1 apartment

Activity before disappearing: 1 walk, 2 toilet, 1 kennel

Shoe prints: 1 location

Breeds: great Dane, Irish setter, retriever mix, sheepdog

In the 'Same' column, he wrote:

Part of town: west of River Street

Size of dogs: large

Trees/buildings nearby = cover?

Missing, no remains found (so far)

On the following page, he started a list for the 'Suspect', which read:

Small shoes, old-fashioned wide square heels

Female?

Small stride: shorter than average

Kidnaps large dogs

Shadow in west woods?

He flicked back and forth between the two pages for a moment, before creating one final list, 'Misc. Clues', to which he added:

No deer - related?

It didn't feel like much to go by, hence the need for stealth operations tonight to gather more clues. Seeing that it was 11pm and his mom was likely to be asleep, Henry, slipped out of bed fully dressed. Moments later, he padded out the front door, messenger bag and shoes in hand (stocking feet were best for quiet sneaking). He hopped on his bike and peddled steadily through the overcast night out to Fanny Schreck's house.

Walking around the outside of the fence, he reached the back of the yard and used the flashlight to spot the fallen elder tree and the hawthorn tree from the previous day's investigation. The footprints were still undisturbed, but this time accompanied by a fourth print, clearly fresh but pointed toward the town instead of away. He smiled and took a picture, then pocketed the phone and returned to his bicycle. If the brand-new print was pointing to town, then that's where the mysterious dog-napping woman must be; as an added bonus, few would be out and about this late on a weeknight, making her all the more obvious.

The only problem was… where to start?

On a whim, he simply rode slowly along Camp Drive through the Hunter's Grove neighborhood, craning his head to glance down each side-street he passed. He cruised past Daniel Memorial Park, and did a double take - was someone sitting in a swing? He slowed as the dark figure turned a pale face toward his direction, and the hairs stood up on the back of his neck. Henry averted his eyes and sped up to give the impression that he didn't think the person worth his time.

Inwardly, however, his mind was racing and his heart pounded. The individual seemed short, but he couldn't see the shoes or tell the gender from the quick glance he'd stolen. He sailed down the next dead end, stashed the bike between two parked cars, and crept back toward the park.

It appeared empty from behind the corner of the last house across the street. "Damn," he sighed and he crossed the street into the park. He may have spooked the person, but perhaps they'd left clues on or near the swing set.

The swing and pea gravel under it yielded no footprints, and neither did the turf and sidewalks in the vicinity. He sat on the same cold swing, feeling more and more frustrated like Sherlock seemed to at times: "Data! Data! Data!" he cried impatiently, flailing his arms, "I can't make bricks without clay!" Henry slumped forward and ran his hand through his hair in irritation.

Then, out of the darkness there was a high, female voice.

"Why are you looking for me?"

Henry sat up, looking all around for the source…but he couldn't quite tell the location.

"How did you know that I am?" He hoped she'd speak again so he could narrow down where she was.

"You passed the park and tried to sneak back," the voice replied from the vicinity of a trio of large yews.

"I don't recognize you, so, yeah, I'm curious." Henry stood up and addressed the trees, "My name's Henry, what's yours?"

"None of your business," she hissed.

"Okay. Um…" he groped for something inoffensive to say to her. "So... what brings you to Storybrooke?"

The voice didn't answer for a long moment, and he was beginning to fear she had snuck away. "I don't know."

"You don't have a reason to be here or you don't know how you got here?"

"Both?" she answered as if asking her own question. "There was a purple cloud and then I was here."

"Sounds like you got caught up in the second curse," Henry tried to nod sagely, like Belle sometimes did. "Did it happen almost 2 months ago?"

"Yes."

"Definitely the second curse then."

"Curse?" she sounded genuinely confused.

"Did you miss the first one?"

"Apparently. Where I'm from, there aren't any curses… apart from swearing," the voice became reflective.

"Where are you from exactly?" Henry began taking slow steps toward the trees.

"Don't come over here!" her tone jumped up half an octave.

Henry froze at the fear and anger in her voice, and failed to suppress the shudder that it aroused, "Why not?"

"It isn't... safe…" she hesitated, as if trying to avoid saying something else "You should go away!"

"What do you mean it isn't safe?" he picked up on the word she'd hesitated over as he stole a cautious step toward the trees.

"It's after hours. The park is closed. You could get into trouble!" she stammered.

"You're right, I could get into trouble," Henry let out a chuckle as he thought of either of his mothers' faces if they caught him outside, alone, at night.

"You think I'm joking?" the voice was outraged. "I'm not talking about mere trouble!"

"Then what are you talking about?" he slid forward another step.

"Your life!" she half-shrieked. "And if you value it, you'll stay away from me."

He stopped. Crouched in the lowest branches of the middle yew, he could make out a petite young woman of perhaps 18 years. Dark hair curled in long ringlets around her rectangular, pretty face. Her clothes were dark, long, and worn-looking. Henry couldn't see her shoes' heels from where he stood, but he would have bet his bike that the shoes had unusually wide, square heels. He also notice that she was thin, as gaunt as some of the not-as-bad-off survivors of WW2 concentration camps, and staring at him as a cat would a fat and tasty mouse. He suppressed another shiver and held up his hands in a "calm down" gesture.

"It's going to be okay…" he began.

"'Okay'?! What do you know?"

"Well, I know my mom is the Savior, and if you have a problem, she can probably solve it."

"You know nothing about my problem," she grimaced, causing him to lose his battle against the shiver. "No 'savior' can solve it."

"Tell me about your problem," he tried to smile soothingly at her, despite the attempts of his knees to knock.

"Ugh, there's no point," she rolled her eyes and turned away from him.

"Why not?" Henry tilted his head to one side.

"It may not be a problem much longer," she sprang off the branches to the ground, landing as adroitly as a cat.

"Wait! Why won't it be a problem?" he called as she backed away from him, then turned and ran. Henry tried to keep up, but she outstripped him easily, running faster than any cat. He didn't stand a chance at keeping up; he had a feeling no one did. Frowning, he turned and walked back to the dead end to retrieve his bike.

"What is it?" Regina asked him point-blank over breakfast.

"Huh?" Henry looked up from his oatmeal, which had neglected to provide him with answers no matter how hard he stared at it.

"Yesterday you could barely stop talking long enough to eat. Today you haven't said a word and your food is getting cold. What's bothering you?"

He looked back down at the oatmeal, unsure how much to tell her. He knew his adoptive mother would not appreciate hearing about his late-night investigation. He took a bite to buy time.

"Operation Mad Dog. I'm still not sure how to find more clues without going out into the west woods," he finally sighed.

"That's out of the question for now. Have you thought about looking around town some more? Maybe someone sold a pair of shoes that matches the prints you found."

He blinked, "I hadn't thought of that, thanks!"

"Anything to help my little sleuth," Regina kissed his forehead. "Now get a move on - you've got ten minutes to eat before it's time to head to the bus."

"I'm sorry, we wouldn't even carry old-fashioned shoes like that," Mickey, proprietor of Mickey's Tailoring and Couture peered at the image of the fresh footprint on Henry's phone that afternoon. "Maybe you could find something like that at the thrift store, but not here. We only carry modern fashions."

"Are you sure you can't think of anything?" Henry smiled sweetly in case Mickey had more information than he'd let on. It appeared to work.

"Well you know, I was staying late into the evening to do inventory. This was right after the second curse, and boy, things were messed up! I was standing by the front door inventorying the bowties, and a girl walked by."

"How would you describe the girl?" Henry perked up noticeably.

"She looked terrible! Her clothes…" he dropped his forehead into his hand and shook it in faux-despair. "Dirty and hideous!"

"Dark blouse, long skirt?" he asked, unsure how to be more specific about women's fashion.

"Yeah!" Mickey affirmed, straightening up and running his hand over his short, dark hair. "I have seen some bad dressers in Storybrooke, but this was the worst! Haha, at least, of the ladies."

"Do you happen to remember the exact date?"

"I could check the inventory log… just a minute," he turned and strode into the back room. Henry used the time afforded by Mickey's absence to catch up on jotting notes in the Iron Man notebook.

"It was the 14th of last month," he returned after a moment with a thick binder in his hands.

"About what time?"

"Around 9pm."

"How did she look…?" Henry began.

"I thought I mentioned," Mickey closed the binder with an impatient snap. "She looked terrible!"

"Sorry," he used his Regina-soothing voice. "I meant, how did she look emotionally?"

"Hmm, she looked lost. Confused, maybe?" Mickey turned to set the binder on a glass case of gaudy fashion jewelry. "Definitely sad."

"Any idea where she was going?"

"None. Sorry, pal."

"That's okay," Henry finished writing and returned the notebook to his bag. "Thank you so much, Mickey!"

"Don't mention it," he replied. "It's no trouble for the son of the Savior."

Henry fake-smiled and waved on his way out.

That night, Henry wore his clothes to bed again, and crept out as soon as he heard Regina's door close. He didn't know if the thin and somewhat-scary girl from the park would be there tonight, but he had to try and talk to her again. This time, he vowed to himself as he bent over his handlebars, he'd be less pushy and more friendly. He patted the Snickers bar and peanut butter and jelly sandwich in his jacket pocket; if she was as hungry as she'd looked, a food peace offering may go a long way toward getting her to talk.

The park appeared empty, much to Henry's disappointment. Nevertheless, he put his bike in the rack and checked the yew trees. Nothing. Unwilling to give up in case she didn't come until later, he sat in the swing. Despite his youth, it had been months since he'd swung.

He was just getting into a rhythm when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He stopped pumping his legs and looked around. She was standing by the teeter-totter, staring at him.

"H-…hi," Henry tried not to look as anxious as he suddenly felt. The swing slowed enough that he dropped his feet to the ground to stop all the way.

"You're here again," she said in a flat voice. Henry noticed that her appearance was just the same as yesterday, emaciated and worn.

"I brought you something," he said, standing and reaching into his jacket pocket.

She took a step back, eyeing him as though he might pull a gun. "What?"

"A snack," Henry held out the Snickers and napkin-wrapped sandwich.

"Oh," the girl looked at the food in his hands with obvious doubt and a hint of distaste. "Why?"

"Well, I thought maybe you might be hungry…" Henry was suddenly uncertain of his plan as her eyes again bored into his.

"I am…" she finally admitted, "But I can't eat that."

"Oh," with effort, he dropped his eyes from hers to his offerings, which suddenly looked very meager. "I didn't know you were allergic to peanuts, sorry."

She didn't say anything, but she also didn't leave. Henry decided to try again to talk to her. "What's your name?"

"Mmm... Ellen," he wasn't sure if she'd been about to say an M-name or if she had hummed in hesitation.

Henry smiled at finally getting an answer out of her. This time, Ellen merely seemed tired and sad, not prickly like the night before. He sensed that she needed a friend and he wanted to help her.

"Swing with me?" he gestured at the empty one beside him.

"Uh, okay," but she went to the third swing away from his. At this proximity, however, he could see her more clearly; she was extraordinarily pale, with sunken cheeks and spindly fingers.

"So you came to Storybrooke in the second curse," Henry began. "It's okay. There's a lot of new people. Robin Hood and his Merry Men came this time too."

"I got here by a curse? A real curse?" she didn't swing, just sat and watched him, unblinking. To mask his unease, Henry only swung his legs enough for the slightest of motion.

"Yeah. They're not uncommon around here. Where in the Enchanted Forest did you live?"

"Uh…" the question seemed to confuse her, "I'm not sure… I didn't travel much."

"That's okay, not everybody gets out much."

"Hmm," she hummed and shrugged, casting her gaze around the park. "Look! I think some snowdrops are coming up."

Henry looked where she pointed to the flower bed near the park fountain. Long, thin leaves poked out from the edges of the dried and withered foliage, and a few small white buds hung downward from their stalks.

"Wow, I thought it was early for flowers," Henry knew next to nothing about plants. They didn't tend to figure big in the storybook or his comics.

She scoffed, the corners of her lips lifting just a bit, "Snowdrops are called that because they're the earliest flowers to bloom after winter. Sometimes there's still snow on the ground when they come up."

"Oh. Cool!" he was a fan of anything that made her talk more freely. "Do you have a garden?"

"No," she suddenly frowned and looked down. Henry wished he hadn't asked; clearly something had happened to her in the past and she was feeling hurt. He was internally debating how to get the conversation restarted when she spoke again. "My friend had one… but she's gone."

Her heartbroken expression clearly said where her friend had gone. Despite her tendency to give him the creeps, Henry felt bad for her and wanted to pat her hand or shoulder, but knew she'd never allow him that close.

"You miss her."

"She was my best friend. We were going to be each other's maids of honor and plant the same flowers in our gardens and raise our children next door to each other and… none of that... is possible." Ellen's shoulders hunched and she was clearly struggling to hold back tears.

"I'm sorry," Henry unwrapped one of the napkins from the sandwich and held it out to her. She looked at it a moment before leaning over to take it and settling into the second-farthest empty swing.

She sniffled into the napkin, "Thank you."

Henry sat silently while Ellen tried to get her tears and ragged breathing back in control. He couldn't think of anything to say, so he said nothing. She didn't seem to mind and for several minutes, they sat in companionable silence until the noise of her stomach growling broke it.

"I can't stay and talk…" she suddenly stood, looking oddly disturbed by the mundane sound.

"That's okay," Henry was quick to let her go, to encourage her to come back. "Maybe I'll see you again some night."

"Don't you need to sleep? Like, for school or something?" Ellen's frowned at him in confusion.

"Yeah, but it's okay," he tried to dismiss her concern.

"Well, don't get too sleep-deprived on my account," she said with genuine concern before turning to gaze out at the night, breathing deeply. Henry took advantage of her inattention to rub his hands together; next time, he'd wear warmer clothes.

She suddenly seemed to remember his presence and turned back to him, "Good night, Henry."

"Good night, Ellen," he whispered as her gaze skewered him to the swing. He found himself unable to move a muscle until she had dashed off into the darkness, as fleet as the night before.

After successfully sneaking back into his bedroom, Henry pulled out the Iron Man notebook and munched on the Snickers bar while he added to his 'Suspect' list:

Dark, curly hair, brown eyes

Old, dark clothes

Late teens

Ellen, pseudonym for M-name?

Not in storybook. Background character? Other realm?

Very thin, starving?

Farm kid

Best friend, gardener, dead

Problem, ending soon

Allergic to peanuts

Non-traveller, unsure of home in E.F.

He still wasn't sure what it all meant, nor was he sure who to ask for an opinion since his family would question when and how he'd met Ellen. He'd only resolved two question marks - that she was female and had arrived with the second curse - but had added so many more. Closing the notebook and tossing the candy wrapper at the trashcan, he decided to put off thinking about it until school tomorrow.

Ever since the first curse had ended, the other kids now aged, making school less like the Twilight Zone and more like a regular school… at least, what Henry assumed regular schools were like. Which meant that he was able to trust that the other kids would provide enough distraction so he could ponder the mystery of Ellen without teachers noticing.

What story did Ellen come from? She wasn't in the storybook, so either she was a background character, or she came from another realm, like Doctor Whale. And if that was the case, then which realm? Whale's?

What did she have to do with the missing dogs?

What was her problem that she said would be over soon? Was she afraid of talking to him for long lest she give something away about it?

The whole day, Henry silently mulled over these questions, fighting the ominous feeling that there was some glaring truth that he may not be happy to find out. Since he was a good student as well as a known day-dreamer, his teachers mostly let his distraction slide.

After school, he was so deep in thought he almost missed his stop. Thankfully, the bus driver knew when he ought to get off and reminded him.

"Earth to Henry, come in please," Regina tried to get his attention with a smile. He was sitting on her couch with an open history schoolbook in his lap. He hadn't turned a page in almost half an hour.

"Huh?" he looked at her with genuine confusion. He'd been pondering again how Ellen's problem could possibly relate to the dogs.

"For the third time, could you please set the table?" Regina gave him a small smile, although her eyes were concerned. Whatever he'd been worried about at breakfast was clearly unresolved.

"Oh, yeah, sure," he set down the book. The innovations of the Industrial Revolution couldn't keep his attention.

"Uh, you realize Robin and Roland are coming," Regina said, when she found him ten minutes later, standing by a table set for two and staring out the window, deep in thought.

"Oh, sorry," Henry hustled to get an extra dinner setting, plus a kid's set. Regina had bought Roland three sets of shatterproof plastic plates and cups in different combinations of bright colors. It protected her fine China from the small child's lack of coordination.

"What on Earth is bothering you so much?" she couldn't hold back her concern anymore.

"I dunno. I just haven't gotten far on this mystery," he sighed. Maybe he could bring up Ellen without admitting he'd snuck out the last 2 nights. "But I may have a lead."

"Really? Do tell."

"Mickey the tailor said he saw a girl outside his shop a few nights after the second curse brought everyone back again."

"That sounds promising…." she urged him to continue.

"But the description he gave doesn't match anyone in the storybook," he sighed. "Plus, it's been two months since the second curse, and dogs have only been vanishing for about one month."

"Well, at least you know there's a person involved," Regina encouraged. "How did Mickey describe this girl?"

Henry ran down his list, "Dark hair in long curls, pale, very thin, old dark clothes, around nineteen years old. He said she looked sad and lost."

"You think emo girl is the one kidnapping the dogs?" she raised an eyebrow at him. "Sounds more like she's working on her goth routine. I doubt there's a connection"

Henry blinked, "Goth?"

"Yeah," she said sarcastically. "You know, people who dress in black and wish they were undead?"

His expression went from surprise to horror, "Oh, no!"

"What?" his alarm spread to Regina.

"What if she's a... monster?" he tried not to say the other word screaming in his head. It would sound so stupid, yet make all the facts fit. "Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth," Sherlock (or Doyle) had said.

"Well, then we'll deal with her," Regina's dark tone left no doubt in Henry's mind that her dealing with Ellen would involve fireballs, and it evoked a feeling of protectiveness in him. Before he could figure out a way to discourage his mom from hurting his friend, the doorbell rang and Robin Hood arrived with four-year-old Roland on his hip.

"Good evening!" the bandit grinned, before the upset looks on their faces wiped his smile away. "What's happened? Regina? Are you alright?"

As he strode swiftly to her side, Regina opened her arms to him. "I'm okay, but Henry has a disturbing lead in his case."

"'Disturbing'?" Robin wrapped his free arm around her and looked to Henry.

"Well, the lead isn't disturbing, it's just a theory…" Henry stammered, unsure how to bring the conversation under control.

"He thinks there's a girl in town who may be a monster of some kind," Regina decided to make it more difficult for him.

"A monster? What sort of monster?" Robin looked from mother to son.

"I don't actually know if she's a monster. She was just spotted walking around downtown at night," Henry's tone turned pleading. "I don't even know if she's related to the case!"

"But you think she might be," Robin guessed. "And if she is, then she might also be a monster."

"Yeah..." Regina started to say before Henry cut her off.

"She might, but we don't really know. I need to do more investigating."

"Well you're not going alone," Regina firmly told him with her I'm-not-joking face on. "Whether it's this girl or someone else who may or may not also be a monster, you're not going anywhere by yourself."

"Mom…" Henry tried his let's-be-realistic voice, but she was having none of it.

"I'm serious, Henry. We all love you and have worked too hard to keep you safe only to have you run straight at danger."

"Ugh," he groaned, throwing his head back in frustration. He just knew she was going to make further investigations that much more difficult.

"Let's eat," she signaled the end of the discussion and turned toward the dining room, turning Robin and Roland along with her. Over their shoulders, she looked pointedly at Henry, "Supper's ready."

That night, Henry didn't even try to sneak out. While he may have only gotten a stern talking-to before, now that Regina thought the investigation may be dangerous she may actually lock him up if she caught him. Instead, he got down on the floor by his bookshelf and pulled a pair of comics from the messy stack on the bottom shelf. They had been on sale after Halloween a couple of years ago, and told slightly different versions of the same story. One was titled 'Nosferatu' and the other was 'Dracula'. Henry sat back on his heels and stared at them, dreading the confirmation of his suspicions.

Finally, he took a deep breath and opened both to the very last pages. In 'Dracula', the Victorian heroine Mina Harker (nee Murray) was restored to full humanity when her husband drove a wooden stake through the villain's heart. In 'Nosferatu', however, the heroine died allowing the vampire to drink from her to distract him from the rising sun, which turned him to ash. In the latter book, her name and image matched Ellen's.

Henry numbly placed the comics in his messenger bag and fumbled into his pajamas. He had no idea what he would do next, but he did know that the four dogs were not coming home. After lying awake a long while, he drifted off into troubled dreams.

He stood in the park between the yew trees and the swings, which moved in the cold wind like nooses from a gallows.

"Henry?" Ellen's voice whispered from behind him. He turned to see her standing in her usual outfit, but with the nosferatu's needle-like fangs in place of her two front teeth, staring at him with hunger and anguish in her eyes.

"Ellen," he replied, unsure how to help her.

"Henry, get back!" Regina commanded. His eyes widened as she conjured a fireball and drew back to throw it at Ellen.

"No, Mom! She needs help, she hasn't hurt anyone!" he threw his arms wide and stood between his adoptive mother and Ellen.

"She's a monster and we have to keep you safe from her!" Emma called from the opposite direction, both hands glowing with magical light. His stomach twisted: he couldn't block them both.

"Henry?" Ellen whimpered as flame and magelight engulfed her.

"ELLEN!" Henry shrieked out loud as he tumbled to the floor beside his bed.

"Henry? Are you okay?" Regina called from the kitchen right below his bedroom. He looked at the clock and realized it was 15 minutes before his alarm would go off.

"Yeah, I'm fine!"

He definitely wouldn't be using that last 15 minutes to cling to sleep. He felt frantic to find a solution - some way to help Ellen that wouldn't result in her demise. It was also Friday morning, and he knew that somewhere in town, someone's family pet was in imminent danger. He tried not to dwell on the probability that after Storybrooke's dogs were gone, its humans might be next.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ahoy, Henry!" Captain Hook greeted him from the deck of the Jolly Roger that afternoon. No one else appeared to be onboard, which suited Henry fine.

"Hi," he replied without his usual enthusiasm. "You busy?"

"Aye, lad. I was just preparing for an afternoon sail 'round the bay. D'you wish to join me?"

Henry glanced at the deck, "Sure, why not."

Hook noticed his lowered mood and put a hand on his shoulder. "Is something amiss, lad?"

He shuffled his feet, unsure what to say. "I dunno", he finally mumbled.

"You don't know?" Hook turned his head to one side. "That makes solving the problem more difficult."

"Yeah, I just don't know where to start," he finally looked up at Hook with troubled eyes.

"Hmmm... shall we raise sail and you can start wherever you wish?" Hook was worried about Henry, but felt reasonably certain that if it involved danger to any members of his family, especially Emma, he'd have spoken more freely about it. Clearly, the lad needed time to decide what to say.

"Okay," Henry followed to the mast at the center of the deck, debating his opening words.

While they prepared the ship and embarked, Hook surreptitiously studied Henry. He was anxious to hear what was bothering the boy and unable to decipher this new brand of melancholy that seemed to weigh on him.

Avoiding Hook's gaze, Henry kept his eyes on his work and gathered his courage to start. "So, there's this… friend of mine…. who has a problem."

"And what appears to be the problem?" Hook wasn't quite certain that it wasn't Henry who had the problem or if he was genuinely worried about someone else.

"Well… she might be a… nosferatu," he decided to go with the less loaded word for what Ellen was.

"A woman, eh? That's poor luck," Hook felt a bit of relief at the idea that the issue might be something as simple as youthful romance, although he didn't think that any of the other adults in Henry's life were ready for that.

"Yeah," Henry affirmed, simultaneously desiring to avoid and return to the issue of Ellen's species.

"And she's a what?" Hook didn't recognize the alternate term.

"I'm not 100% sure yet," for Ellen's sake, he emphasized the uncertainty, "but I think she might be a… vampire."

The pirate's jaw tightened. This term he knew well from his realm-crossing travels: it meant a major problem, on top of the major problem they already had. He did not relish the idea of laying yet more stress on Emma's shoulders, no matter how capable she was.

Henry glumly continued. "But I don't know for sure, I just think so. I haven't asked her if I'm right."

"Do you believe she's dangerous?" Hook studied him, wishing he had Emma's uncanny ability to read the truth in people's eyes.

"No," Henry gazed back unwavering. "I think she's the reason for the dogs disappearing. I think she's trying to avoid hurting humans."

"Ah," the clues from the investigation clicked together in Hook's mind. "How certain are you that she means us no harm?"

"Every time I see her, she tries to keep her distance, like she's afraid to hurt me," Henry explained.

"And how often do you 'see her'?" Hook's tone became suspicious, knowing that Henry's family would never knowingly allow him to meet a vampire.

Henry eyed him, gauging how much to say, "Just twice so far. I... snuck out at night to look for more clues and I found her."

"Found her where?" Hook wanted to know in case he had to deal with the vampire for Henry's (and by extension, Emma's) sake. The boy's nighttime sojourns did not surprise him - he had warned Emma that restricting Henry too much in the name of safety would only lead to sneaking.

Henry knew better than to divulge where he thought Ellen's daytime lair might be, "Daniel Memorial Park." He felt confident that Ellen would notice anyone who tried to approach the park while she was present.

"I see," Hook's nod acknowledged what they both knew: that Henry wasn't about to share everything. The park in question had some trees but no form of shelter suitable to keep a vampire safe from sunlight. "And what do you intend to do about the maid's dilemma?"

Henry looked out at the water, "I don't know. My family will probably try to kill her and the Blue Fairy will just tell them, so I don't know who else can help." He turned back to the ship's captain with pleading eyes.

"But you can tell your secret to a pirate, eh?" Hook half-smiled, feeling gratified that Henry had come to him. He'd felt especially caring toward the lad ever since Neverland, and the feeling had deepened significantly since the second curse. In the quiet moments when he allowed himself to daydream about a future with Emma, he admitted that the feeling was fatherly.

"Yeah, I figured you'd at least listen first, before trying to hurt her."

"Does the nocturnal lass have a name?" Hook still suspected a hint of youthful romance, even if Henry didn't realize it himself yet. At 13, the boy was too inexperienced to recognize in himself the mysterious yet potent forces that pull lovers together.

"Ellen," he all but whispered. Telling someone else her name felt to Henry as if he really HAD revealed a secret, and one that didn't entirely belong to him.

"Hmm...," Hook noted the apprehensive look on Henry's face and decided to lighten the mood. "Well lad, though it pains me to think of the faithful dogs she may have dispatched, as long as Lady Ellen refrains from feasting on humans she has nothing to fear from me."

Henry brightened, "Really?"

"Aye," the pirate grinned. "I suspect your family will agree once they're told of the pains she has taken to avoid harming you."

"I had a nightmare that my moms killed her to protect me," he frowned.

"They would do anything to keep you safe, but they can, on occasion, be reasoned with," Hook wiggled his eyebrows, eliciting a knowing chuckle from the teen.

"On occasion," Henry agreed. "As long as they haven't made up their minds yet."

"Aye. It seems to me," Hook began turning the ship back toward the town, "that we need to find a way to ensure that Ellen is no danger to humans, yet remains healthy."

"How do we do that?" this was exactly the problem that had been vexing Henry all day and he was eager for any ideas.

"I haven't the foggiest, alas," he smiled sadly at Henry. "Vampires are unheard of on the sea. Perhaps Belle or Regina?"

Henry frowned at the deck, "Mom definitely thinks Ellen's dangerous. I don't think she'll help."

"Belle it is, then." Hook glanced at the boy and decided not to resist a gentle tease, "Don't worry, lad, you'll get your dashing rescue."

Henry blushed a little and raised his eyes to the town, "I just don't think she's a monster."

"She surely isn't," Hook magnanimously agreed. "While I, like your family, wish you wouldn't put yourself in danger by venturing out at night, in this case, it may be acceptable for you to tell the Lady Ellen that aid will be rendered."

Henry passed the afternoon in the library, pretending to do research on vampires for a school project and planning exactly what he'd say to Ellen that night. He wanted to know how much of the comic book was accurate without hurting her feelings. And of course, he had to figure out how to let her know that help was on the way… while admitting he didn't have a plan just yet.

Belle was her usual bubbling, helpful self. "According to this book, there is uncertainty whether vampirism is a curse or some sort of magical disease. No one has successfully attempted True Love's Kiss. I wonder why? Oh. Because they didn't survive getting that close."

She and Henry grimaced at each other before returning to their respective books. Henry found that most of the references to vampires seemed to come from Dr. Whale's realm, and he debated visiting the hospital. Perhaps the infamous Victor Frankenstein could come up with a cure for Ellen's affliction?

"They're very powerful," Henry concluded, jotting down notes. "According to this, they can command weak-willed animals and turn into fog…. What's mesmerism?"

"Oh, it's like hypnosis," Belle supplied. "It's where somebody dominates your mind and makes you obey their will. Very dark magic."

"I think I felt that the other night," Henry shivered at the memory of his moment of paralysis on the park swings. "She stared at me and I couldn't move until she left."

"What? You mean this isn't for a school paper?" Belle was aghast. "You've actually _met_ a vampire? Here? In Storybrooke?"

"What's this about a vampire?" Emma chose that exact moment to appear, intending to pick Henry up to go home.

"Nothing! It's just a project for school!" Henry rushed to maintain his version of events, shooting a significant look at Belle, who frowned but held her tongue.

Emma knew he was lying, but decided not to press the issue at the moment. "You ready to go, kid?"

"Yeah," Henry started shoving the two most informative books in his bag along with the Iron man notebook. "What's for dinner?"

"Well we're on our own; Mary Margaret and David are going on a date while they don't have to hire a babysitter."

"So… Granny's?"

"You got it, kid," Emma threw her arm around his shoulders and they started toward the door.

"Um, Henry," Belle cleared her throat and regarded him seriously. "I'll keep looking this evening. Stop by tomorrow and I'll tell you what I find."

He realized Belle was giving him a break but tomorrow she'd demand answers. "Sure, thanks Belle."

"Have a nice supper," she smiled after them.

Henry was just about to take a bite of his cheeseburger when Emma started in on him.

"So, tell me about your school project that Belle is helping you with," she raised one eyebrow over a sip of her cinnamon-topped hot chocolate.

With an internal groan, he realized she'd seen right through his story, so he decided to buy time by taking that bite and chewing very slowly. "Umm… I'm learning about folklore."

"Vampire folklore?" her tone and eyebrow dropped.

"Yeah, it's a personal interest," Henry opened his messenger bag and pulled out the comic books, holding them out to Emma. "I've had these since Halloween and decided to re-read them."

"I saw a lot of movies based on those stories; one foster home I lived at for most of a year had a vampire-obsessed goth boy who owned every vampire movie ever," she examined the covers before returning a heavy gaze to her son. He hadn't given an outright lie since the library, but she could tell he was hiding something. Emma noshed on her onion rings, allowing the tension to build.

Henry resisted as long as he could, carefully eating his food and chewing slowly with a sip of cocoa every third bite, keeping his eyes on the comic book covers (one of which depicted Ellen being menaced by the titular nosferatu) or anywhere else but his mom's face. Hook had been amused to find out about "the lass"... maybe his mother would take it as easily if he approached from that angle?

He cleared his throat to speak and promptly chickened out, "So tomorrow is day eight. Any reports of missing dogs, yet?"

Her eyebrow went back up at his unexpected question, "No, kid. Nothing so far."

Henry released his breath, not realizing he'd been holding it. "I think I have a break in the case."

"Really? That's great! Tell me about it." Emma wasn't sure if this was an attempt to change the conversation or if he'd come back around to the subject of vampire research, but either way she decided to see where he was going with it for now.

"Yeah, it's just… I'm pretty sure the dogs are all dead," his eyes flickered to hers and then back to the table.

"Oh," her eyebrows knit with concern. "Have you told the owners or do I need to?"

"I'll do it, but I need to confirm my theory first," he vigorously avoided eye contact, playing with his spoon.

Emma could tell he was about to burst whatever had him so wound up, "Did you find their bodies?"

"No," he frowned at the thought and then looked her in the eye. "I think I found the… culprit."

Emma leaned back in her seat, "Whoa. There IS a person behind this? Is it that De Vil woman you were talking about?"

He shook his head, "No, it's not a villain."

"A person who steals and kills dogs is not a villain?"

"I think she's a victim."

The "she" did not go unnoticed by Emma, but she'd get back to that. "You lost me, kid."

Holding his breath, Henry opened the "Nosferatu" comic to the final pages, in which Ellen encouraged Count Orlok to bite her, buying time for the sun to rise and kill him. "I met a young woman at the park named Ellen, and I think this is her," he turned the comic around so she could look at it.

"You met her at the park?" Emma pointed at the image of Ellen with Count Orlok at her throat. "Is she a nosferatu now?"

"I think so," Henry assented, "but I won't be 100% sure until I see her again."

"If she's a vampire you are NOT going to meet her alone in a park!" Emma's tone left no room for doubt about her conviction.

"Okay, I'll take somebody along, but I have to see her soon so I can figure out how to help her before Storybrooke runs out of dogs," the words rushed out of his mouth before he thought them through, and he watched with trepidation as the implications behind the last six words registered on Emma's face.

Her jaw clenched and her eyes hardened. "Henry… if she hurts people…"

"I know, Mom. Let's make sure she doesn't have to." Henry earnestly met her gaze.

Mollified somewhat, Emma flipped through the comic book at random before pausing on one page. "According to this, Ellen's married."

Henry looked at the page she held open. "I haven't had a chance to ask her how much of that book is true."

"Hmmm…" Emma closed it and returned it to Henry with a raised eyebrow.

As soon as the sun had vanished below the horizon, Henry and Hook made their way to the park. Henry wasn't rationally certain, but he had a feeling that Ellen would know he was there to see her. The back of his neck tingled as if he were being watched; the sensation was becoming less disturbing with repeated exposure.

Nevertheless, Ellen did not appear.

Henry taught Hook how to play on the teeter-totter and merry-go-round.

Hook taught Henry four new constellations.

Two hours after sunset, they sat on the swings and stared silently into the darkness.

"Well, lad, it appears the lady has other plans for her evening," Hook finally sighed. "And while I'd love to dally in this park, I've a bottle of rum and my bunk to attend to as well."

Henry's shoulders slumped. "Okay. Let's go."

The tingling sensation returned, as if their walking away from the park had recaptured Ellen's attention. Henry glanced behind them frequently, but saw no one.

After convincing Regina that he was very tired and going to bed, and then waiting for her to go to bed, Henry snuck down the stairs and out the door. Minutes later, he hopped off his bike at the park and took his usual swing.

"Who was that man with you earlier?" Ellen crept out of the night and into the swing beside him. She looked hungrier than the last time.

"Captain Hook," the name didn't bring any recognition to her eyes so Henry offered further explanation. "He's a pirate from the Enchanted Forest. He's dating my mom, Emma."

"Oh," she looked at the ground and pushed the swing back and forth with her feet still on the ground. "Were you looking for me?"

"Yeah! Hook wants to help you. We just don't know how."

"I don't know either."

"Maybe there are some clues in this," Henry pulled out the comic book. "Have you ever seen it before?"

Ellen's jaw dropped as she took the "Nosferatu" book from his hand and began flipping through it, "No! Where did this come from?"

"That story is almost a hundred years old in this world. Sometimes events from other realms get retold here as stories. Nobody knows how it works, but sometimes they aren't accurate." Henry explained, then paused before asking one of the questions burning in his mind. "How accurate is this one?"

She silently continued rifling through it for several moments before finally flipping to the beginning of the book. She pointed to some of the pictures as she quietly spoke.

"I don't know anything about Count Orlok's beginnings. I can only speak for the people I knew. Annie Harding was like my sister, and I loved her almost as much as my fiance, Thomas Hutter. Since I was an orphan from a young age, the Harding family took me in. Annie and I did our chores together, braided each other's hair, and each had our own kittens from the same litter. By the time we were ten, our neighbors had all but forgotten we were not sisters by birth."

"I met Thomas in school. He was gentle, funny, and very clever - always top of the class. He was ambitious to become a solicitor. One of his first assignments was to travel to a far away country and finalize the sale of real estate to Count Orlok. It would have made him enough money for us to be married. I was very lonely without Thomas, but he had sent me a letter saying all was well. A hideous lie!" her voice grew fierce, lips pulling back in a grimace.

Henry shuddered: for the first time, she looked extremely dangerous.

Ellen took a deep breath to calm herself and continued, "Orlok used Thomas and then left him locked in that castle with his… women. But Thomas escaped and returned to me, weak and ragged from his suffering. He returned to a town besieged. Because the Count's ship arrived with the crew all dead, it was assumed to be the plague. And when the townspeople began to fall, one by one, again the plague was blamed."

A pink-tinged tear ran down her cheek, "And then Orlok found us. Even before Thomas returned, Annie saw a ghastly white face in the window at night. Georg, Annie's brother, and I told her it was a dream caused by her fear of the plague. Why didn't we believe her? She was found dead the second morning after Thomas came home, drained of blood with two punctures in her throat. She was so white. Until he saw her body, Thomas did not know if Orlok had come to the homes that Thomas had helped him purchase, and so Thomas had not told us the horror of what he had been through. The next day, after we lowered Annie into her grave, he unburdened himself to us. I had never seen him cry before. At least, not like that. Not like a wounded animal."

"Thomas and Georg tried to hunt the monster, but he had purchased more properties than Thomas knew and they couldn't find him." She shook her head at a particular page in the comic, "I don't know anything about these boxes of dirt. Anyway, within days, I began to dream of the white face in the window and grow weak and pale, like Annie had. The boys hatched a plot to ambush Orlok when he came to my bedroom on the night of the full moon. They hid behind the long window curtains with single-blade axes and wooden stakes. They weren't strong enough. A mere glance from Orlok immobilized Thomas because he had been in Orlok's thrall before. Georg wasn't even that lucky. The monster snapped his neck like a cornstalk and threw his body out the window. Then he came for me with the Devil's own grin upon his face."

Ellen glanced briefly at the last pages of the comic book before closing it and looking at the stars as if to gather the strength to finish her tale. Apart from her moving lips, she became as still as a gravestone. "My window faced east, and I could see the sky redden with the dawn. I knew if I could just delay him, the sunlight would succeed where the two men I loved most in the world had failed. So I tried to smile and whispered, 'Now we do not need to hurry, my love.' At that, his eyes became gleeful and he knelt at the side of my bed, caressing my hair, my face, and my neck. His stinking breath was in my nostrils and I had to smile and keep him preoccupied while the morning slowly came up behind him."

Henry felt sick to his stomach as he imagined being in her position of simultaneous horror and sacrifice.

She glanced at Henry sideways, "Orlok promised he would make me immortal, that he would keep me in comfort forever at his side, and that we would become the dark rulers of Wisborg. I smiled and nodded eagerly as if I was enamored of his vision and begged to hear more of the glorious future he had planned for us, but my luck had run out. His appetite overcame him and he bent his cold, cruel lips to my throat again. I feared that I had failed and would be doomed to be with him for all eternity."

"As I began to sink into unconsciousness, I heard the cock crow, and the monster dissolved into ashes at my side. Thomas was released from Orlok's mesmerism and ran screaming to my side, but I did not even have the strength to purse my lips and meet his kisses." Ellen tilted her head back to look up at the stars, "It was already too late. I died."

The pain in her face and voice rendered Henry speechless. He wondered how anyone could possibly keep their wits about them while Death itself was literally breathing down their neck. In an instant, Ellen had been added to the top three bravest people he knew, right behind his two moms.

After a moment, she continued in a lifeless voice. "Of course, that was not really the end. I awoke the next night, wrapped in a shroud, enclosed in black stone. It was the Hutter family tomb. Thomas was there, weeping. I was unable to control my hunger: I fell upon him at once. Afterwards, I put his body in my tomb and hid myself in the sewers. The next three nights I returned and waited, but he never came out. On the fourth night, I awoke to the purple cloud surrounding me, not in the sewers of Wisborg, but in the woods west of this… Storybrooke."

Pink tears ran down her face. Unconsciously, Henry reached over and touched the back of her cold hand. Ellen started, looked down in surprise at Henry's hand on hers, and after a moment turned her hand upward to hold his, silently accepting the first comfort she'd received since her death.

Several minutes later, she wiped the last tears away with the back of her hand. Just then, the wind changed direction, blowing from Henry toward her.

Ellen froze, nostrils flaring and pupils dilating. Her lips trembled and two fangs appeared, exactly as Henry had dreamed. The comic book slipped out of her hands and onto the ground.

Before he could move a muscle, Ellen had pinned his arms to his side and was at his throat. Her fangs sank in with an audible groan of gratification. Within seconds, Henry's vision was tunnelling and he tried to tap on Ellen's waist and get her attention.

As his eyelids began to droop, she suddenly came to herself.

"Henry! Henry, I'm sorry!" she held his weight up effortlessly. "I didn't mean to!"

"S'okay…" his body went completely limp.


	4. Chapter 4

Ellen whimpered with fear even as she gathered Henry up in her arms and ran as fast as she could to the hospital. They arrived in the emergency room less than a minute later, where she gently placed him on the gurney by the door and had him wheeled past the reception desk to the nurses' station before anyone even realized they were there.

"He needs help! Help him!" she shrieked at the two nurses and one aide at the station. They blinked uncomprehendingly at Ellen's flushed face for a split second before springing into action.

"Wake up Dr. Whale!" Nurse Kyle yelled at the aide as he wheeled Henry into the nearest room and began taking his vitals. "Henry, talk to me."

Henry mumbled, "M'okay." His eyes fluttered but didn't open.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Nurse Ann zoomed in on Ellen, noting the blood in her mouth and the drop on her chin.

"I'm fine, I'm not hurt. He's lost a lot of blood, he needs blood!" she crumpled to the floor and began weeping loudly into her hands.

"Check his blood pressure - it's acute blood loss!" Ann called to Kyle before crouching down beside Ellen. "Have you been hurt, miss?"

"No, no, no," she shook her head vigorously, pink-tinged tears streaking down her face. "It's all my fault. I'm so sorry!"

"Can you tell me what happened, please?" Ann squeezed Ellen's shoulder comfortingly.

"I did it. I bit him. I was starving. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Ann had heard of vampires. She backed away rapidly and ran into the room, turning Henry's head to examine his neck. Two punctures.

Just then, a bed-rumpled Dr. Whale, aka Victor Frankenstein, arrived and demanded report. Kyle rattled off vital signs, including low blood pressure and elevated respiration rate, then added, "The female patient in the hall said he has acute blood loss."

"She's NOT a patient," Ann emphatically disagreed.

"What do you mean?" Dr. Whale asked, between barking orders for O negative into the phone.

"She's a vampire, sir! She told me she bit him, look at his neck," Ann pointed to the marks on Henry's throat.

"Didn't mean to," Henry whispered.

"Holy shit!" Kyle exclaimed before sprinting to the blood lab for the transfusion units; he gave Ellen a wide berth.

"What do we do about her, Doctor?" Ann asked Whale.

He glanced out the door at Ellen, still crumpled in a heap and weeping, "For now, nothing. We need to stabilize Henry. Take a small blood sample if you can get it and get it to the lab STAT for a CBC and CMP. I'll start the IV myself; get a bag of saline."

"Should I call his family?" the aide, Andy, called from the door.

"Yes!" Ann replied to her brother and began the blood draw.

"Here's the O negative," Kyle returned with blood bags.

Andy reappeared at the door, "I called the Queen and the Savior."

"Send these to the lab!" Ann shoved 2 small vials of blood at Andy as she raced by en route to the med room for saline.

"I'll clean and bandage his neck while you administer the blood and watch his vitals," Dr. Whale told Kyle.

No sooner did the bags get hung than the Charmings and Regina arrived. They noticed but swept straight past Ellen and into the room, calling Henry's name.

"Henry!" Regina shrieked at the sight of his wan, clammy skin and IVs of saline and blood. She lifted her hands to her face while David and Snow White hugged each other.

"M'okay, Mom," he didn't open his eyes very far before closing them again.

Emma stood clenching and unclenching her hands. After a moment of staring at her son, she asked in a low, ragged voice, "What happened to him?"

Regina impaled Dr. Whale with a baleful glare, and he nervously glanced at the ECG display before turning to answer.

"He appears to have been bitten, possibly by a vampire," he told them gravely. "He's lost a lot of blood, which we are replacing as quickly as we can to prevent hypovolemic shock. I'm optimistic that he'll be alright."

"Optimistic?" Regina sneered. "Henry trusted the vampire that did this to him…"

"She didn't mean to," Henry weakly protested while Whale cut her off, "The person that did this to him brought him here immediately and with great sadness and remorse. We were able to begin treatment within minutes, possibly saving Henry's life thanks to her quick actions."

"Where is she?" Regina stormed into the hallway, Emma right behind her and looking likely to assist.

Ellen pulled herself up to standing, facing Regina and Emma with her cheeks still wet, "I'm so sorry..."

Regina conjured a fireball and drew back to throw it while Emma raised her glowing hands.

"Wait!" Snow called from behind them.

Emma paused, but not Regina, who hurled her missile at the vampire who'd seriously harmed her son.

Ellen dissolved into fog which the fireball passed harmlessly through and set the wall behind them on fire. The fog quickly retreated out the front door as the three women stood with their mouths gaping in shock and the sprinklers in the area let loose all over them.

Regina recovered her wits first and snarled, "After her!"

"No! She may have hurt Henry but she also probably saved his life," Snow shouted as the two magic-wielding women jogged for the door.

"'Probably'!" Regina echoed mockingly. Her steps did not slow.

"We can't let her run free!" Emma agreed as they pushed through the doors and into the moonlit night.

"But Henry wants you to!" Snow yelled as the doors swung closed.

Outside the hospital, Regina and Emma paused, realizing that they had no idea where the vampire had gone.

"Henry said the footprints were on the west end of town, behind Fanny Schreck's house," Emma suggested.

"We'll go there first," Regina agreed as she poofed them to Fanny's back yard. They materialized just in time to spot a small, dark form flit into the woods.

"There she goes!" Emma surged forward, hands alight.

They ran down the deer path for a hundred yards before reaching a divide. Each felt the tingle in the middle of their backs that they were being watched, and the sudden hoot of an owl made them jump simultaneously, then give an anxious chuckle.

"Any chance you have a tracking spell handy?" Emma grimaced at Regina.

"I didn't pack my handbag for a safari," the Evil Queen grumbled. "Shall we split?"

"I don't have any better ideas. I'll go left," the Savior strode purposefully down her branch of the trail, picking her way over sticks and mud puddles.

Regina started along her equally-messy fork, holding up a fireball to light her way. She shoved aside the stray thought that maybe heels weren't the best choice for the evening.

The trails led each deeper into the rain-soaked, pitch-black woods.

Snow White squeezed her grandson's hand. Henry moved his eyes from the ECG screen, where the pattern of his heartbeat trailing across the screen had partially hypnotized him for the last half hour since his mothers had left.

"You need to find my moms and stop them," he petitioned for the fourth time. "Ellen didn't mean to do this, it was an accident."

"I believe you. And I already tried to stop them, Henry, but they won't listen," she smoothed the hair across his brow, which had regained much of its usual color. The blood bag was almost completely empty.

He rolled his eyes at the ceiling, "They think they're trying to protect me."

David leaned down to put his hand on his grandson's shoulder, "There isn't anything they, or we, wouldn't do to keep you safe."

"I just don't want them to hurt Ellen. It isn't her fault," he sighed.

"I know sweetheart," Snow assured him.

"Henry, what can you tell us about Ellen?" David squeezed and released his shoulder.

"A lot. She's good and brave, and willing to sacrifice herself for the people she cares about," his eyes assertively held David's. "Just like we are. She gave up her life to make sure the nosferatu would stop killing people. She can't help that she needs blood to survive now. She's been starving herself to avoid hurting humans. This was just an accident; she was starving to death."

The Charmings exchanged surprised ohs. "We… didn't realize..." Snow sputtered.

"Do you have any idea where they might have gone to search for Ellen?" David pulled out his cell phone and tapped on it.

"Daniel Park or the west woods behind Mrs. Schreck's house," Henry perked up.

David huffed, "Emma's not answering. I'll head that way and see if I spot them."

"Thanks, Grandpa," Henry smiled at him.

"Any time," David ruffled his hair and departed.

The alarm on the IV pump sounded as the last of the blood drained from the bag.

"I'll let the nurse know your blood is finished," Snow kissed Henry on the forehead. Henry regarded the laden IV pole thoughtfully.

Emma's phone buzzed in her pocket, and she ignored it. Not out of spite, but because she was preoccupied with the irritated brown bear 30 feet across the clearing from her.

The bear growled and stood up on its hind legs, assessing Emma's threat potential with its beady eyes.

"It's okay," Emma murmured in a low voice, wanting very much to avoid harming the animal if possible. "Let's both just go our separate ways, okay?"

Just then, a cub stumbled out of the bushes roughly between Emma and the bear, and Emma barely had time to mutter, "Oh, crap" before the mama bear dropped to all fours and charged.

Emma turned and sprinted through the trees as fast as she could, but the crashing and snarling behind her indicated the bear was gaining.

Despite the magelight shining from her hands, Emma didn't see the patch of jagged rocks until one caught her toe and sent her flat on her face, ripping her jeans and her knee wide open. She rolled over to see the mama bear rearing over her, lifting huge clawed paws and baring her fangs. Emma was about to bash the bear with magic when the bear cocked her head to one side and lowered her paws. Emma's jaw dropped as the bear lowered herself slowly to all fours, turned, and waddled back toward the clearing where they'd left her cub.

Emma looked around, and spotted Ellen perched on a branch nearby, one hand stretched toward the retreating mama bear. Emma heard a woosh, and Ellen was squatting beside her, eyeing her knee. Emma gasped but withheld the blast she had prepared for the bear.

"Do you need help getting home?" Ellen kept her head down and flicked her eyes in the direction of Emma's face.

"Um, I don't think so…" Emma looked down at her knee.

Ellen stood with exaggerated slowness and held a hand out to Emma, still not making eye contact, "Let me help you up."

Emma attempted to return her jaw to its closed position, "Um, thanks."

The chill of Ellen's hand and proximity gave Emma goosebumps. As soon as she stood, she teetered to one side and lifted her banged-up leg.

Ellen immediately supported her with hands to the shoulders, careful to keep at arm's length, "I think your knee is worse off than you thought. May I take a closer look?"

"Okay... I guess," leaning heavily on Ellen's arm, Emma hobbled to the nearest fallen log and plopped onto it.

Ellen gingerly pushed up the leg of Emma's jeans and scrutinized the freely-bleeding knee. Emma studied Ellen's face, but did not see any fangs or other signs of danger from the vampire.

"I don't see any debris in the wound," Ellen reported, ripping a strip off of her skirt and wrapping it snugly around the knee. "I will help you get home if you like."

A fireball hit the ground less than 2 feet from the pair.

"Back away from her, you monster!" Regina screeched, drawing back to throw a second one.

"No!" Emma shouted while Ellen threw herself backwards and yelled, "You could have hit her!"

The second projectile was aimed squarely at Ellen. "This one won't miss," Regina's lip curled as she let it fly.

Ellen's shoulders slumped as she merely stood and watched the fate hurtling toward her.

A flash of bright white light deflected the fireball into the damp woods, where it fizzled out in the damp.

Emma shook her dimmed hands, a few stray sparks dropping from them, "Quit it, Regina! She's helping me!"

"What?!" the Evil Queen held a third missile at the ready.

"Look!" Emma gestured to the makeshift bandage. "She wasn't attacking me, she was bandaging my knee."

Regina paused, and held up the fireball to scan Emma's leg and Ellen's despondent face. Finally, she straightened, "What happened here?"

"A pissed-off bear was chasing me, and she made it turn around and go away." Emma motioned to Ellen, "How did you do that?"

Ellen shrugged, "It goes with… what I am."

Regina's eyes narrowed, "You're the vampire Henry talked about. The one who bit him."

Ellen's eyes dropped to the ground. "Yes," she murmured.

"Why did you bite him?" Emma leaned forward on her log.

"I…" Ellen's breath hitched. "I was so hungry. I haven't… eaten… in more than a week. Henry was in the swing right beside me. The wind changed… his smell hit me and I lost control…" a blood-tinted tear rolled down her cheek as her voice faded out.

Despite herself, Regina felt a small pang of pity for the guilt-stricken girl.

Emma clearly did, too, "The doctor was 'optimistic' that he'll be okay."

Ellen's head shot up, "Really?"

"We should go back and find out," Emma addressed Henry's other mom.

"The first sensible thing anyone's said all night, but first things first" Regina picked her way to the log and waved her hand over Emma's knee. After untying the strip of cloth, revealing fully healed skin, Regina lifted her arms and poofed them smoothly into the hospital ER's lobby.

"Mom! Mom!" Henry bolted upright in his hospital bed when Emma strolled through the door, followed by Regina.

"Henry!" they cried in unison, dashing forward to embrace him.

"You're okay," Emma examined his face as if to ensure that the words were true.

"Yeah, but where's Ellen?" Henry looked past them to the open doorway. Ellen peeked around the door jam at him.

"You're okay!" he echoed his mother's words.

Ellen nodded mutely but remained motionless, eyes wide.

"Should she come in?" Snow White's gaze darted back and forth from the women in the room to the one in the hall.

"Yes," Regina sighed and glared despite her assent.

The vampire tiptoed just inside the room and to one side of the door, as if afraid that approaching Henry would result in expulsion.

"So that's her," Snow stared with frank curiosity.

"Moms, Grandma, this is my friend Ellen," Henry smiled encouragingly.

Ellen finally found her voice, "I'm so sorry, Henry, I didn't mean to…"

He cut her off, "It's okay, I know you didn't want to hurt me. You were starving."

She gaped at his easy forgiveness, "But I almost killed you."

"But you didn't," he firmly replied. "The doctor said I can go home in a couple of hours, and guess what?"

"Did I hear someone invoke my name?" Dr. Whale sauntered in, noting the relaxed demeanor of the Queen and the Savior with tangible relief.

"Tell her what we found out!" Henry nearly bounced up and down in the bed with excitement.

Whale turned toward the vampire, "I made arrangements with the blood bank for you to receive 2 or 3 bags of nearly-expired blood every week."

Ellen sagged back against the wall, utterly shocked.

"What? How?" Emma was equally astonished.

"It turns out that we hardly ever use all of the blood that is donated before it expires," Whale grinned. "As long as donations remain steady and we use less than we receive, there's no reason Ellen can't benefit from the surplus."

"And as mayor, I will naturally promote awareness of the importance of regular blood donations as everyone's civic duty," Snow squared her shoulders with a gleeful smile.

"I hope you don't expect pirates to perform civic duties," Hook smirked from the door.

"You got my text," Emma ducked around the doctor to plant a kiss on his lips.

"Aye, and when I've learned to respond in kind, I will be certain to acknowledge my messages," his arms wound around her waist. "Where's your father? Shouldn't he be here celebrating Henry's good health?"

"OH!" Snow was aghast, "I haven't called him! He went to the woods to look for you!" She scurried past Hook and Emma into the hall, phone at her ear.

"Do you want anything from the cafeteria?" Whale chuckled with Henry. "It opens in a little bit."

The latter gasped and looked at the window, "The sun's coming up soon!"

Ellen collected herself, "I should go…."

"Where are you staying?" Regina arched an eyebrow at her.

"Out in the woods…" Ellen was deliberately vague, unable to quite believe her change of fortune.

"Oh, you don't need to do that," Emma interjected. "I'm sure we can find a safe spot for you. It might be a closet, but at least it'll be clean and dry until we can find a better place."

Ellen appeared ready to cry again, "Really? You mean…?"

"Yes," Emma was resolute. "As long as you're well fed by the blood bank and you're in no danger of losing control again, I'm glad to welcome you to Storybrooke."

"Me too!" Snow chimed. She re-entered and crossed the room, shoving her phone in her pocket and reaching out to shake Ellen's hand.

"Yes!" Henry exulted. "You can stay!"

Regina's eyebrow stayed arched, "As long as nothing like this happens again, I suppose I can tolerate you."

"It won't," Ellen breathed as she accepted Snow's hand. "I promise."

"Good," Snow traded her grip on Ellen's hand for her shoulder. "Now let's get you someplace safe for the day."

Emma, Hook, and Regina lingered until Henry drifted into his first exhausted sleep of the night and dawn peeked in through the window.

"Shall we break our fast at Granny's?" Hook suggested.

"Of course!" Emma answered, then paused. "Do you think Granny will mind a vampire upstairs for a few days?"

"I'm sure she will, but I'll make a list of potential alternates that you can call… after I've had a good nap," Regina nodded to them before poofing away to her house.

"Are you sure you'll be safe with a vampire in your closet?" Hook was serious for a moment as they climbed into the yellow bug.

"Pretty sure," Emma turned the key and dropped it in reverse. "If we don't at least try, Henry will be unhappy."

"That he will," Hook flashed a crooked grin as the car pulled onto the road.

THE END


End file.
